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Eastonian Federation
The Eastonian Federation, commonly known as Eastonia (Eastonian: Eastonien), is a federation of two states in New Iotania: the Republic of Eastonia and the Free State of Westonia. It is a major world economy, a status it owes to Eastonia proper being a major transport hub in the transcontinental hyperloop network aswell as rail and shipping routes connecting the four continents of Westerland, Southland, the Far East and the Great Iceland, and the Eastonian dollar has become the primary currency used in international banking. The nation is home to a range of different landscapes from the mountainous urban area of Eastonia City-Blåkulla-Kaupmannavik to the Westonian plains, the swamps of Dödsträsk and the desolate icelands of New North Eastonia. Eastonian citizens enjoy a relatively high quality of life as a result of government policies aimed at promoting socio-economic equality in line with the Peace and Love philosophy which has influenced Eastonian cultural and political life for millennia. Etymology The name Eastonia is of Imperian-Panzerian origin and means roughly "[land of the easterners", which refers to its location east of the Westerland continent. Old Panzerian maps show a widespread usage of the name Eastonia for the entire island of Terra Gurrana, which has since fallen out of use. History Iotanian settlers from New Gurrinea came to New Iotania during the first wave of colonization in the 1st century BC and established a trading post at Kaupmannavik on the west coast of Terra Gurrana. While the first Iotanian colony at Angstein was slowly abandoned over the years, this eastern harbor town prospered and eventually the traders declared an independent Republic of Eastonia to govern the city. The Eastonians later expanded east into the hills of southern Terra Gurrana to the Upper Eastonia Valley. A small farming settlement sprung up but the area remained underdeveloped for decades until a building boom in the late 2nd millennium established the town as the new cultural and demographic center of Eastonia. It was later named Eastonia City and officially declared the national capital in the 3rd millennium. In the 5th millennium, Westonia was founded as an Eastonian colony in Westerland on the plains south of the free city of Dalheim. It was this expansion of Eastonia beyond Terra Gurrana that would later lead to the transformation of Eastonia into a federal republic, in which Westonia was elevated to the rank of "free state" equal in status to Eastonia proper. The Eastonian city of Blåkulla hosted the world's first international millennium celebration on day 4,000 and since then two other such events have been hosted in the Eastonian Federation: one in Westerköping, Westonia for day 6,000 and another in Eastonia City at the United Nations headquarters for day 10,000. Government and politics Eastonia is a federal democratic republic and its parliament Austramot is the oldest legislative assembly in the known world. The federal government operates under a presidential system with a clear separation of powers between the executive, legislative and judicial branches who have their respective seats in three different Eastonian cities: the executive (the President) in Kaupmannavik, the legislative (Austramot) in Eastonia City and the judiciary (the Supreme Court) in Blåkulla. Eastonia City is however the sole official federal capital. The President is the federal head of state and head of government, and is elected directly by the people. Austramot is Eastonia's unicameral federal parliament and its 42 members are elected by proportional representation in multi-member constituencies with boundaries corresponding mostly to those of the Eastonian and Westonian municipalities. Justices of the Supreme Court are nominated by the President and their appointments confirmed by Austramot. Administrative divisions Eastonia is a federation of two states, the Republic of Eastonia and the Free State of Westonia, which both have their own respective state governments structured in a similar fashion to the federal government. These are further divided into municipalities and territories, with the difference between the two subdivisions being that municipalities have devoluted local governments while territories do not. Foreign relations Under the auspices of Peace and Love, the Eastonian Federation maintains close relations with the majority of sovereign nations in the known world and Eastonia City hosts multiple foreign embassies aswell as the headquarters of the United Nations. Political parties Eastonia has a strong parliamentary tradition with many active political parties, of which four have representatives in Austramot: the Alliance for Peace and Love (APL), the Eastonian Democratic Party (EDP), the Federalist Party (FP) and the Social Justice Party (SJP). There are also a number of independent politicians representing the constituencies of Eastonia City and Blåkulla in the federal parliament. Due to the fact that neither the APL-SJP coalition or the EDP-Federalist bloc controls a parliamentary majority after the last election, these independents now hold a great deal of influence over the legislative agenda. Alliance for Peace and Love The Alliance for Peace and Love (APL) wants to build a society based on the philosophy of Peace and Love as a guiding ideology. They are the traditional government party as most presidents, including the incumbent, have been affiliated with the APL, and it is also the largest party in Austramot with 14 seats of 42. As of the latest election their coalition with the Social Justice Party no longer commands neither a majority nor a plurality in the federal parliament however. Eastonian Democratic Party The Eastonian Democratic Party (EDP) is a broad front of the Eastonian opposition seeking an alternative path to that presented by the Alliance for Peace and Love. They are focused mainly on issues concerning Eastonia proper and does not field any candidates in Westonian constituencies. The Eastonian Democrats has 9 representatives in Austramot. Federalist Party The Federalist Party (FP) came to be as part of the Westonian autonomy movement and has been an active voice of the opposition ever since, advocating for further devolution of powers to the individual states. They increased their total number of seats in Austramot from 7 to 11 in the last election, and forms a loose voting bloc with the EDP which has allowed Federalist MP Mona Cheval to become Speaker. While their strongest base is in Westonia, the Federalists field candidates nationwide unlike the EDP and has managed to win a few seats in Eastonia proper aswell. Social Justice Party The Social Justice Party (SJP) was formed by an activist group from Kaupmannavik to affect political change on the issues of social justice and rail infrastructure. They have had a long-lasting coalition agreement with the APL who endorses the SJP's candidate for Speaker in exchange for the SJP endorsing the APL's candidate for President. However, in the latest election the Social Justice Party saw their vote share cut in half after a quiet election campaign on their part, and current leader Ninja Cow LXIV has since lost the speakership to the Federalists.